Terror Time

Nate and co. running from Gargaros and a Leadoni, with Venoct in the Background.

Terror Time, known as Oni Time (Japanese: 鬼時間,Oni Jikan) in Japanese, is a randomly occurring event in the Yo-kai Watch universe. This black-and-white alternate dimension is the home of Gargaros, Ogralus, Orcanos, and many Oni, Leadoni, and Suspicioni. Children who disobey their parents or generally misbehave might find themselves within Terror Time, chased down by the large Oni and their followers. If they get caught, the Oni gives them a severe beating, but then the children wake up in bed as though it were a nightmare.

There is a positive spin to this, as one who evades, outsmarts, or defeats the Oni is said to have grown as a person.

Contents

History

In the anime

Nate has been trapped within Terror Time twice in the anime' run, both times for leaving the house after his mother forbade him from doing so. The first time, Nate barely escaped from Gargaros after the oni flattened Whisper and Jibanyan.

The second time, despite remembering the first time and being warned it would happen again, Nate goes out anyway. Nate was stopped by Sergeant Burly and told to confront the oni to grow as a person, giving him advice on the strategy needed to take him down, though in the style of a group formed in a MMORPG. However, the deliberation takes so long that Gargaros gets agitated and leaves.

In the games

Terror Time is based on a common warning parents give their children over some kind of divine punishment they will receive if they misbehave.

In the games, Terror Time is first introduced during Chapter 4 in the first game, following the player's ability to go out at night thanks to befriending Baku, in order to retrieve Mr. Goodsights' lucky underwear from the Hot Springs at night as to upgrade the Yo-kai Watch to find Rank D Yo-kai.

Gameplay

While wandering the city, the player may find themselves suddenly dragged into a barren, black-and-white version of the city. This often happens in the early part of the nighttime, as they have stayed out past their bedtime, though it can also be encountered if the player loiters or delays plot-progression, and in various places within the Infinite Inferno. This event can also be triggered by following a Leadoni that says "Follow me! FOLLOW ME!" instead of the normal "Follow me! Follow meeeeee!". However, more often than not, when Terror Time is triggered this way, the player would be close to a Terror Chest.

Terror Time plays like a stealth game, where the player must evade the Oni and his minions while searching for the exit, which is marked on the map and takes the form of a sliding door. The longer the player takes, the more smaller Oni will spawn on the map and look for the player. Belaying these efforts are the Red treasure chests which almost always contain hard-to-find items, such as rare evolution items, which are scattered throughout Terror Time, often in dead-ends which might be difficult to navigate into or out of without getting caught.

If a small oni spots the player, it lets out a shrill roar which alerts its boss, causing the large oni to charge at a dead sprint for the Player's location. It is impossible to hide; the Oni will always know where you are and can teleport to your location if you manage to evade it for too long. The Oni runs as fast as the player can sprint, if not faster, so using Staminum is advisable if the player is spotted, with the sole exception being if the door is nearby.

Once caught, the player will find themselves under a relentless onslaught of powerful physical attacks and the occasional Yo-kai technique. If the Oni defeats them, they wake up in bed as though they'd had a bad dream, but any items obtained from the red chests are lost. As a result, new/ early game players are advised to simply search for the exit unless they land near a chest and Gargaros spawns far away from them.

An adequately powerful party can defeat Gargaros, after which the Player is free to gather any remaining Terror Time chests unimpeded. However, defeating Gargaros enough times causes his brothers to start appearing in Terror Time as well, and they are by far the strongest foes in the game, especially his brother Orcanos.

In the second game, the appearance has taken a total overhaul. While the main goal is still to run to the escape door without getting spotted, there are some additions.

All the patrolling onis are an unnamed yo-kai that resembles a large eye which follow the player instead of just disappearing. The more times the player has been spotted, the faster Gargaros will run to the player. Instead of battling Gargaros, the player will get swatted away and promptly be woken up from the nightmare. As time passes, more onis will appear, and this can include Gargaros's brothers Ogralus and Orcanos.

The player can no longer use any items from their inventory in terror time, including stamina boosts. There is now items that the player can pick up and use which include: a paralyzing trap, Robonyan's rocket punch, stamina boosts, and a time-bomb. These items are randomly scattered around the map. Any yo-kai that were called to a yo-kai hotspot will support by placing a temporary paralyzing trap in front of them if approached by the player.

Instead of items, the player will come across oni orbs that, if the player escape with some, will power up a special oni crank-a-kai coin. This will allow the player to use a special crank-a-kai that can give the player some items and oni yo-kai. The more powered up the coin is, the higher chance of a rare yo-kai or item being dispensed from the machine.

The exit isn't accessible immediately at the start of Terror Time. Instead, the player has to wait until the clock reaches one of the large red notches before it will appear. A notification will appear onscreen once the exit is available.

Yo-kai

Terror Time Chests

A variety of highly desirable items can be found within the Red Chests in Terror Time within the original game. The chests are marked on the map, as well as the hunting Oni, when the map is zoomed in all the way. No matter how many times players enter Terror Time, the chest placement is static.